End-of-day summary
And with that, we come to the end of today’s live blog. Here’s what went down this Tuesday 22 December:
- NSW has recorded eight new cases today, after a record 44,000 tests were conducted yesterday. Seven of the cases are linked to the northern beaches cluster, with the eighth an overseas-acquired case.
- Victoria recorded one new locally-acquired case today, the first in 53 days. A teenager tested positive, having acquired the virus on the northern beaches.
- Queensland police said they turned away 57 cars at the border yesterday, as they and Victoria enforce their hard border with NSW.
- Four men have been charged with starting the Fraser Island fires that have burnt through more than half the island. Police said the blaze was started by an illegal campfire on 14 October.
- 350 people were released from incorrect quarantine in South Australia after a miscommunication led to people receiving the wrong information.
- Western Australia premier Mark McGowan announced the state would resume quarantine-free travel with South Australia on Christmas Day.
- Finally, Antartica has recorded its first batch of Covid cases at a Chilean base, meaning the pandemic has reached every continent on the planet.
Don’t forget to also check our summarised border restrictions and list of hotspots if you are planning interstate travel any time soon.
Updated
Senior figures in Victoria police are puzzled as to why the Australian Defence Force can’t support the NSW border closure.
The Age is reporting that a significant number of the officers manning the border are homicide and counter-terrorism officers, and that more than 700 officers have been recalled from holidays or deployment so they can man the border.
Deputy commissioner Rick Nugent said he wasn’t aware of the reasons the ADF couldn’t help with the effort.
This is a significant community safety challenge for us. None of us want to go into stage-4 lockdown again.
The Victorian state government has requested help from the ADF, but that request was rejected on the weekend, with only 50 defence personnel provided to help with logistics and planning.
Updated
In other news today, Labor has branded secrecy around the report into the gifting of Cartier watches to Australia Post executives as “pathetic”.
The opposition will try to force the government into releasing the review into Australia Post’s expenses culture, after the communications minister walked back a suggestion it would be made public.
On Monday a spokesman for Paul Fletcher confirmed the government had “received and considered” the report triggered by Christine Holgate’s decision to spend $20,000 on Cartier watches for four executives, but refused to release it.
The shadow communication minister, Michelle Rowland, said the decision to keep the report secret “is pathetic and, just like the purchase of Cartier watches, does not pass the pub test”.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
An interesting bit of detail on the way NSW is reporting testing numbers:
re: questions about NSW testing figures
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) December 22, 2020
1) NSW reports the number of test results received daily, NOT the number of swabs taken
2) NSW has the capacity to do well over 15,000 tests a day
I have confirmed this with NSW Health directly, here is a statement from a spokesperson: pic.twitter.com/Vi4XIg8Pel
It probably means there were more than 44,000 tests conducted yesterday, and it is encouraging to see the confidence in the states’ testing capacity.
Updated
NSW Health has issued some updated advice on the testing site that was raising concerns.
The Avalon Recreation Centre pop-up testing clinic is now a considered low-risk, after investigators looked into a case linked to the site.
NSW Health advice has been updated for Avalon Recreation Centre Pop Up testing clinic after a case investigation indicated this is a low risk exposure and anyone who attended the clinic needs only to monitor for symptoms and seek testing if they develop, in line with the...
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 22, 2020
Anyone who has attended the clinic still needs to monitor for symptoms and get tested if anything develops.
...existing advice for the entire NSW community and especially for residents of the Avalon area.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 22, 2020
Anyone who attended the clinic because they have been identified as a close contact and are isolating for 14 days, or a casual contact and isolating until receiving a negative...
...test should continue to follow the public health advice related to those specific exposures.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 22, 2020
Patrons at Paddington Alimentari Deli and Café in Hopetoun St Paddington from December 17-19 were previously advised to be casual contacts of a COVID-19 case.
Updated
Five Queenslanders have been issued fines for breaching home quarantine orders in the past three days.
All five people tested negative, with assistant commissioner Shane Chelepy saying most people are doing the right thing but some are choosing to disregard the rules.
He said:
People quarantining at a private address need to take their obligations seriously and stay at home.
Those who are found to be flouting the rules and leaving their property could not only face a hefty fine, they are likely to be placed into hotel quarantine at their expense.
There have been 186 home quarantine compliance checks conducted in the past two weeks, reflecting a 97% compliance rate with the orders.
Updated
A new survey of Australians shows more than 50% of people would not buy a house near a 5G tower.
Telco comparison site WhistleOut surveyed 1,000 people to gauge public attitude to 5G as companies continue rollouts around the country.
The ensuing report found one in four believe the technology poses a health risk, while 27% have privacy concerns, 56% say they’d prefer not to live next to a 5G tower and, finally, 10% believe 5G makes you more susceptible to Covid-19.
WhistleOut spokesman Kenny McGilvary told AAP that although the survey showed people still raising concerns about the technology, reservations were largely being “put to bed”. He said:
We have been fielding fewer questions about 5G health risks, and the launch of the iPhone 12 range appeared to have changed the focus of the 5G conversation towards what it can do for us, rather than what it might do to us.
It’s clear many people are cautious about our 5G future, with more than half of all respondents saying they won’t buy a house with a 5G tower in the area, and less than half wanting to live in a fully connected 5G world.
Half of respondents said they were still confused by the technology, and only a third were aware of the benefits such as lower latency (31%) and more simultaneously connected devices (32%).
Updated
Covid affects every continent in the world after 36 test positive in Antarctica
Antarctica is, unfortunately, no longer Covid-free.
Thirty-six people at a Chilean army base have recently tested positive, according to multiple Spanish-language reports on Monday.
The base is located in west Antarctica, close to the northernmost tip of the Antarctic peninsula, quite a distance from Australia’s bases in east Antartica.
All 36 have reportedly since been evacuated to the city of Punta Arenas in Southern Chile, where they are isolating. It is unclear how they contracted the virus.
The news means the coronavirus pandemic has affected every continent on our planet.
You can read more at our story here:
Updated
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has announced three new cases in the state, including the one case acquired interstate.
The state has recorded two new positive cases in returning international travellers, including a young child and a man in his 50s. Both are in hotel quarantine at the moment.
On the teenage girl who tested positive today after visiting the northern beaches, the department has provided more details, saying the girl was with her mother when she travelled across the border, but her mother has tested negative. ‘
All of their close contacts have been contacted by the department, with secondary contacts now being followed up. Rapid testing for the close contacts is under way, with the teenager isolating at home.
The statement says that it was relatively inevitable that the outbreak in Sydney would cross the border.
Given the large size of the outbreak in NSW, it is not unexpected that we would experience some localised cases in Victoria.
A 70-year old man from Avalon has been fined $1,000 for allegedly breaching lockdown.
The man attended a leisure centre in Ulladulla, and staff notified authorities after he signed in with his Avalon address. The man was kicked out of the centre and the police were called.
The man had allegedly left the northern beaches region on 17 December and not self-isolated from midnight on Sunday 20 December, per the public health order.
Shoalhaven mayor Amanda Findley told the ABC the man had been staying in the region prior to the lockdown in the northern beaches, but should have headed the public health order. She said:
We’ve had a visitor from the northern beaches who was supposed to be quarantining wherever they were – they didn’t have to return home but stay indoors and not interact with the public.
This person has been completely and utterly inconsiderate.
Updated
Tourism jobs have plunged to their lowest September ever, according to a new report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
There were 634,000 tourism jobs in September, a 13% drop year-on-year, which means there were 113,000 less jobs in the industry.
Despite a 4% lift in tourism and tourism-related jobs over the three months to September, the numbers still show an industry that has taken a heavy hit from the pandemic.
This was also the first time part-time jobs (318,300) exceeded full-time (315,700) in the sector.
The biggest drop came in jobs at cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (23,900 jobs), accommodation (23,500 jobs) and air, water and other transport (15,200).
The industry was also affected by the summer bushfires, with states of emergency declared in multiple states across the country, just before the pandemic.
Jobs in the industry had been growing for a decade prior to 2020.
Updated
Bradman's baggy green cap fetches $450,000
Donald Bradman’s first baggy green test cap has sold for $450,000, the second-highest price paid for a piece of cricket memorabilia.
Australian businessman Peter Freedman bought the cap and intends to tour it around the country.
The price paid for Bradman’s cap is nearly half the $1,007,500 that was paid for Shane Warne’s Test cap earlier this year – a world record.
But this recent price does eclipse the $425,000 paid for another of Bradman’s caps from 1948.
Freedman, the founder of Rode Microphones, paid $9m earlier this year for a guitar used by Kurt Cobain.
Freedman told AAP:
Sir Don Bradman is an Aussie legend – not only as one of our greatest talents on the sporting field and one of the most revered athletes of all time, but as an icon of Australian fortitude and resilience.
Updated
Sydney actor Blake Davis has been found not guilty of murdering a home intruder with a samurai sword.
AAP has the story:
A Sydney actor has been found not guilty of murdering a fleeing home intruder with a samurai sword, but guilty of his manslaughter.
Blake Davis, 31, pleaded not guilty to murdering Jett McKee, who he struck in the head with the sword after the ice-fuelled intruder fled his Forest Lodge unit on 10 August 10 2018.
Davis’s girlfriend, Hannah Quinn, 26, was on Tuesday convicted of being an accessory after the fact to McKee’s manslaughter.
The 11-person jury in the New South Wales supreme court jury retired to consider its verdict on Monday and returned on Tuesday afternoon with a guilty manslaughter verdict for Davis, deeming he had not acted in self-defence.
However, the jury deemed Davis was not guilty of murder.
Chris Taylor, the Crown prosecutor in Davis and Quinn’s trial, described the sword attack as senseless, unnecessary and unlawful.
He contended Davis had not been acting in self-defence or defence of Quinn, noting the pair had chased McKee about 80m down the street.
Davis gave evidence in the trial about his belief the intruder had shot him, and his belief that his girlfriend’s life was in danger.
Davis was in possession of the samurai sword – a legal weapon – as it was a gift from his brother on his 18th birthday.
Updated
NSW Health has issued a new health alert, with updated venues in Gundagai – where the teenager who tested positive in Victoria visited – and in Orange, which was visited by a close contact of the healthcare worker who tested positive today.
The locations are:
- Oliver’s Real Food, 31 Annie Pyers Drive, Gundagai, on Friday 18 December, 5.30pm to 6.05pm
- Orange Central Square Shopping Centre, 227- 239 Summer St, Orange, on Saturday 19 December, 4.05pm to 4.15pm
- Garfish Manly, 1/39 E Esplanade, Manly, on Thursday 17 December, 7.10pm to 8.15pm
- T1 North Shore line, Wednesday 16 December, departing Central 7.12am, arriving Artarmon 7.35am
- The M52 bus rout on Tuesday 15 December between 8.09am and 8.46am, and between 5.52pm and 6.34pm
and on Wednesday 16 December between 8.24 and 9.06am and 6.12pm and 6.55pm
and on Thursday 17 December, between 8.25am and 8.59am
Anyone who attended these venues is considered a casual contact and must get tested immediately and self-isolate as they await the result.
NSW Health also announced that all patrons who were seated at Paddington Alimentari Deli and Café from December 17 to 19 are now close contacts and should get tested for and isolate for 14 days from their visit. Take-away patrons should monitor for symptoms until 2 January, isolate and get tested immediately should symptoms develop.
Updated
And now, for a regular segue to a Christmas light show set to a remix of Daniel Andrews telling everyone to get on the beers:
IMPORTANT (sound on pls) pic.twitter.com/GfPaLsaJT6
— 🎄🎄🎄 don we now our Gordy parrel 🎄🎄🎄 (@GordyPls) December 21, 2020
It certainly competes with a remix that emerged earlier this year of Scott Morrison getting testy at a press conference in March as the best remix of the year:
You can also read more on the spectacular light show at our story here:
Updated
Kelly wraps up with a final discussion on the UK variant of the virus, having previously mentioned there are four cases of the new variant in hotel quarantine across Australia.
Kelly also compares genomic sequencing efforts between the UK and NSW, saying the UK was “nowhere near” analysing every case of the virus.
Just to give you some idea of that, over the recent period, there’s been around about 1.5 million cases reported in the UK. Of those, about 69,000 have had genomic analysis; 69,000 out of 1.5 million. And of those 69,000, 3,000 are of this new strain. They’re mostly in a certain part of the country – in south-east England, London and surrounding areas.
Kelly went on to say there was still other factors to consider when looking at surging numbers in the UK.
There are a range of reasons why a transmission and growth may increase. There seems to be an association with this new virus, but at the same time, it’s winter, there are Christmas parties, there’s Christmas shopping, a lot of mixing. All of those things are happening at the same time.
And the way I view this is, as almost always when there’s a change in the epidemiology, it’s a combination of what people are doing, the environment – including the climate conditions, like winter – and the virus.
Updated
The CMO has addressed the issue of quarantine protocols for arriving air crews in NSW, saying the previous arrangement “hasn’t worked completely well all the time”.
The New South Wales example has a particular issue because of the nature of Sydney airport. It’s always been our busiest airport, even at these times of much-constrained travel. So, on any given week, they can have up to 3,000 air crew who are overnighting here, resting, before they head back to their normal places of residence.
So, what’s happened in recent days is that NSW has consolidated what was a large number of hotels into two, and really strictly made it clear what those expectations are, and they’re examining that as they go forward.
Updated
Kelly is now addressing the vaccine rollout, saying that there is no vaccine anywhere that has actually had its final approval for open distribution to the general population.
He says:
There are several countries in the world that have emergency-use authorisation, because they have emergencies. I talked about the US earlier – 200,000 cases yesterday. They have an emergency. They need to get on with it. Same in the UK. Same in Europe overnight.
We are not going down that pathway because we don’t have anywhere near that need right now. But we’re certainly not stopping in our preparations.
Updated
Kelly says there is no need to change border arrangements for those arriving from the UK, in light of the mutated strain of the virus ravaging Britain.
Our view is that this is a concern in the UK. It is a new variant of the virus. But here in Australia, we have our ways of dealing with people coming from overseas in terms of our hotel quarantine system, and that has been extremely effective in controlling any virus that may be coming from other parts of the world. And so we put faith in that.
He says there is no evidence the new strain “interferes” with the vaccine, or that it affects the severity of the illness.
Updated
CMO Paul Kelly begins by mentioning that there are only 22 people in Australia in hospital due to the coronavirus.
He then notes testing numbers yesterday, saying he believes those in NSW were a record for any state.
So, that’s how we’re going to fight this virus. All of my chief health officer colleagues have been stressing this in their own states. We really want you, if you are symptomatic, to get tested. That’s how we know where this virus is and where it might be spreading.
Updated
We’re currently waiting on chief medical officer Paul Kelly (not that Paul Kelly), who is due to speak to the media shortly.
Updated
Western Australia has recorded another day of zero cases, with the state’s total remaining at 846.
There are still 10 active cases in the state, with over 700 people tested yesterday.
Updated
Some semi-good news on the proposed travel bubble with New Zealand, with a spokesperson from the New Zealand ministry of foreign affairs and trade telling the Guardian it should still be going ahead:
New Zealand is looking to establish a travel bubble with Australia in the first quarter of 2021, pending confirmation from the Australian government and no significant change in the circumstances of either country.
New Zealand officials are monitoring the situation in New South Wales, but it is too early to make decisions based on the current community cases. Decisions on a commencement date will be made next year.
Fingers crossed this emerges as the first good news of a good year in 2021.
Updated
NSW Health said it saw the highest number of tests ever yesterday, with over 44,000 people being tested yesterday. For all the discourse around this outbreak, it is genuinely heartening to see people react responsibly to this outbreak.
Yesterday saw the highest amount of COVID-19 testing ever done in a single day, with 44,466 tests reported to 8pm last night. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who came forward for testing - we couldn’t do it without you. pic.twitter.com/VHYqAd2SGu
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 22, 2020
Updated
Scott Morrison seems to be having a good day, with US president Donald Trump awarding the the prime minister a Legion of Merit award for his “leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security”.
“President @realDonaldTrump awarded the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security. Ambassador @A_Sinodinos accepted the medal on behalf of PM Morrison.” – NSA Robert C. O’Brien pic.twitter.com/bTJVLra0Wb
— NSC (@WHNSC) December 21, 2020
Australia’s ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, accepted the reward for the PM.
Honoured to accept US Legion of Merit awarded by @realDonaldTrump to @ScottMorrisonMP recognising the Prime Minister’s leadership that “strengthened the partnership between the United States and Australia in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security” @WHNSC
— Arthur Sinodinos AO (@A_Sinodinos) December 22, 2020
Updated
Virgin Australia has announced it will cease using cabin crew and pilots who live in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Following a similar announcement from Qantas and Jetstar yesterday, Virgin said crew who lived in the northern beaches region were advised on 20 December that they would not be required to work until the hotspot order was reviewed by the NSW government later this week.
As well, airline crew who had visited a case alert location would not be rostered shifts until they had completed self-isolation and testing requirements in accordance with government health regulations.
Updated
The ACT has recorded no new cases in the past 24 hours, with only one active case in the state.
That keeps the capital’s total cases at 118.
The state’s health department also reminded residents that if anyone arrives in the state from Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong will have to quarantine for 14 days.
NSW police has changed a series of infringement notices to cautions, after it emerged they had been fining motorists for using their phones while waiting to get tested.
The NSW Police Force has reviewed a number of traffic infringement notices that were issued to motorists in the Eastern Suburbs on Saturday 19 December 2020.
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) December 22, 2020
Of the 9 infringement notices issued, 7 were changed to cautions and 2 were reviewed and deemed appropriate to stand.
It came after News.com.au reported that people were being fined, with motorists saying they felt it was “cruel” to target people waiting to be tested.
A friend of ours was waiting for testing in a 7 hour queue in Bondi this morning when she was booked by police for using her phone. And she was only there because she works in an office in Bondi and wanted to “do the right thing”.
— Paul Cheever (@pmcheever) December 19, 2020
Premier Gladys Berejiklian addressed the issue at her press conference this morning, saying the fines were revoked and urging the police to show “discretion”.
Common sense prevailed and we always ask for discretion at this time.
It is illegal to hold and use a mobile phone at any time while driving and, in NSW, comes with a $349 fine and five demerit points. This increases to 10 demerit points during double demerit periods.
Updated
If you haven’t seen it, here’s the footage of president-elect Joe Biden getting the Coronavirus vaccine, live on TV, saying the country “owes these folks an awful lot”.
The scientists and the people who put this together, the frontline workers, the people what were the ones that did the clinical work.
Updated
And moving quickly across the country, Queensland has announced zero new cases across the board.
Tuesday, 22 December – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 21, 2020
• 0 new cases
• 10 active cases
• 1,235 total confirmed cases
• 1,429,412 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,215 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/kdVTnETtGa
Some good news out of Western Australia, with premier Mark McGowan saying the state will resume quarantine-free travel with South Australia on Christmas day.
The premier said the border would reopen at 12.01am on Christmas morning, lifting the requirement for a 14-day quarantine for travellers.
South Australia will be reclassified as a 'very low risk' jurisdiction for WA's controlled interstate border as of 12:01am on Christmas Day.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) December 22, 2020
This change will mean that travellers from SA no longer need to undertake 14 days quarantine, though other requirements remain in place. pic.twitter.com/bEs6PCeOfv
He said the restrictions were being lifted to coincide with SA recording 28-days without community transmission – which, fittingly, falls on Christmas day. He told 6PR Radio:
For many South Australians that won’t be ideal but we think that’s the right approach.
Updated
The prime minister’s reshuffled cabinet has been sworn in virtually for the first time, with the governor general, David Hurley, conducting the ceremony by video conference.
The outbreak in the northern suburbs forced the move, with the PM seemingly happy with the process, calling it “very efficient”.
As part of the reshuffle, the PM elevated the aged care portfolio to the cabinet and made Dan Tehan trade minister, with Alan Tudge replacing him in education.
Updated
Thanks, Naaman, and a good afternoon to you all.
It’s been another busy day, so let’s dive right in.
Updated
Former treasurer and US ambassador Joe Hockey has taken to Twitter to say he is “not ground zero” for the latest outbreak of coronavirus.
Just to be clear.
— Joe Hockey (@JoeHockey) December 22, 2020
1. I am not Ground Zero
2. I have been in Oz six weeks
3. I have had three Covid tests - all negative
4. I too did hotel quarantine
5. I haven’t visited any designated Covid spots
And 2021 can’t come fast enough.
And with that, I will hand over to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani.
Updated
Shares on the Australian market were down in early trade, AAP reports, as a more infectious coronavirus variant looked set to further damage the world economy.
Materials lost 1.52% after copper and other industrial metals prices sagged after UK prime minister Boris Johnson said a variant of the coronavirus, up to 70% more infectious, had been identified.
On US markets, the virus news seemed to overshadow an earlier pandemic relief agreement by politicians. The US$900 bn (A$1.2tn) package includes unemployment aid, small business relief, and vaccine distribution.
Updated
Three hundred cars an hour are reportedly being stopped on the ACT/NSW border, as police conduct spot-checks on people entering from Sydney.
ACT Policing stopping around 300 cars an hour #canberra @SBSNews
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) December 22, 2020
350 people released from incorrect quarantine in SA
About 350 people from NSW have now been released from South Australian hotel quarantine, after they were incorrectly told they needed to isolate.
And 30 people who were incorrectly turned away at the border have also now been allowed in, AAP reports.
Due to a miscommunication, people arriving before midnight on Sunday were incorrectly told they could not enter or forced into quarantine.
Overall, 550 people were placed into quarantine and more than 100 turned away.
Updated
Red Cross appeals for more blood donations to avoid national shortage
The Red Cross is calling for more blood donors to come forward this holiday season.
The blood bank needs 6,800 additional blood donations between Christmas and New Year to avoid a national shortage over the festive season, AAP reports.
“It can be a challenging time for blood supplies as the need for blood doesn’t stop over the holiday period,” Cath Stone of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.
Donors responded to a call out in record numbers last month but the need for short-lived platelets was constant. Stone said:
Platelets only last for five days so we’re unable to stockpile them ahead of long weekends or busy periods.
The period between Boxing Day and 2 January is when platelet stocks are under the most pressure.
Many blood donor centres around the nation will be open between Christmas and New Year.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross says people in Wollongong, Sydney and the NSW Central Coast can continue giving blood under certain conditions after a coronavirus outbreak in the state.
But donors from Sydney’s northern beaches – the epicentre of the outbreak – are being told to stay at home, in line with a government directive.
Updated
AAP reports:
Retail sales surged by seven per cent in November helped by Victorians enjoying a full month at the shops, free of coronavirus restrictions.
The sizeable improvement on October trade, according to seasonally-adjusted data published on Tuesday, showed Victoria’s retail sales grew by 21% after many shops were allowed to reopen in late October.
South Australia had little change to its result, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, after a three-day lockdown due to a coronavirus cluster.
Australian retail sales for the month were 13.2% more than the same month last year.
This might seem remarkable given virus restrictions on trade, but it is because the bureau’s retail sales survey does not include sectors hit hard by the pandemic such as travel and pubs and clubs.
Holy guacamole - retail sales up 7.0% in November...
— Stephen Koukoulas (@TheKouk) December 22, 2020
Updated
South Australia’s chief health officer Prof Nicola Spurrier is now giving an update.
She says there was an increase in testing in the state yesterday, with more than 4,000 tests.
But some of that will be people who travelled from New South Wales and either are in quarantine or if they’re not still required to do testing on day 1, day 5 and day 12.
Spurrier also urges all South Australians not to go to parties if they are feeling sick. She says:
If you get sick, don’t go to the Christmas party. I know you’ll be really disappointed but if you’re feeling sick, the last thing you want to pass on as a Christmas gift to your family is Covid.
Updated
A woman who attempted to enter Queensland from Sydney will be fined $4,000 after police alleged she gave false information and falsely applied for an entry pass.
Queensland police have turned away 57 cars carrying 115 people attempting to enter the state from Covid hotposts, a spokesman has said.
“There are still significant numbers of people who want to come into Queensland,” he said.
He said one woman attempted to enter at two different checkpoints and has been fined after police alleged she lied.
He also said some people were not aware of the entry rules, and willingly said they were from Sydney.
“We spoke to some of the people and some said they were coming up from Sydney because they were visiting family for Christmas. Clearly they hadn’t read instructions, followed rules.”
Four men charged for starting Fraser Island fires
Police have charged four men with unlawfully lighting fires on K’gari/Fraser Island that started the blazes which scorched more than half of the world heritage-listed tourism drawcard.
Queensland Police and and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service carried out a joint investigation and detectives yesterday charged the four men in their 20s who are all from the Warwick area, 130km south-east of Brisbane.
In a statement police said park rangers were alerted to an illegal campfire on 14 October in the Duling Camp Zone of Eastern Beach, north of Orange Creek.
Rangers found a campfire that was covered in sand but was still warm. Vegetation nearby was on fire.
Queensland police said in a statement: “This wildfire subsequently took hold and over the following weeks burned extensive parts of the world heritage listed island.”
K’gari is the world’s biggest sand island and draws about 600,000 visitors a year to its 250km of beaches, towering ancient sand dunes, rainforests, crystal clear creeks and dune lakes.
The fire burned about 87,000 hectares of the island, with firefighters dropping millions of lites of water during an waterbomning assault.
A 24-year-old Warwick man was charged with the unlawful lighting of a fire and leaving a fire unattended. Two Rosenthal Heights men aged 21 and 24, and a Massie man aged 23, are each charged with unlawful lighting of fires.
They will appear in Hervey Bay magistrates court on January 21. A 17-year-old boy will be dealt with according to the provisions of the Youth Justice Act 1992.
Updated
Berejiklian says she is frustrated with other premiers who are closing borders to the whole of NSW.
“There are parts of New South Wales completely unaffected by this current outbreak and yet everybody in New South Wales is suffering because other state leaders made decisions,” she says.
Gladys Berejiklian says she will decide Wednesday morning whether restrictions will continue into Christmas
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has said she will still wait until Wednesday morning to announce whether restrictions will continue past Wednesday night, into Christmas.
She says that it still is an “hour to hour” decision.
But she says “the trend is going where we want it to go”.
“Yes, it’s volatile but we’re confident that the strategy we’ve put in place is having the desired effect.”
She adds that the proximity to Christmas makes it more difficult:
Obviously the decision would be much easier if it wasn’t this time of year. If it wasn’t this time of year, the decision would be much easier.
But obviously we will try to consider mental health issues, we need to consider what people are going through as part of that decision as well but we also need to consider what it means for 8 million citizens across the state.”
Updated
Chant is now addressing a venue alert that went out for the Avalon Recreation Centre – which is a testing site on the northern beaches.
People there said hundreds of people were in line and waiting at the testing centre.
Chant says the alert was issued without realising it was a testing site.
“We were trying to get the venue lists out very quickly. That needed probably more assessment before we put it up there,” she says.
“The speed it went up, and someone didn’t recognise it was a testing location.”
She says the person was wearing a mask while waiting for testing.
The person who was positive, who got a positive test result through that clinic was wearing a mask. I’m advised that they’ve got good infection control.
But for the abundance of caution, whenever we have a positive test result, we do a forensic investigation about whether there could have been any lapses or breaches.”
Updated
Chant is asked about hotel quarantine, given two different airport workers have now seemingly contracted the virus from returned travellers in the past week.
“Clearly there’s some leakage in the system,” she is asked.
“We understand that this virus can be highly transmissible and people can be highly infectious,” she says.
“Can I just say it is a credit that we pick up some of these transmission events? Occasional transmission events will occur but, the fact that the person came forward for testing means the system is right in that we can prevent further transmission to the community.
“I don’t think any system can ever guarantee that we won’t have transmission events. Similar situations such as New Zealand have had a number of incursion events as well. It is also about how you surveil, pick them up and respond to them that is important.”
Updated
Victorian case stopped at Gundagai
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant has confirmed that a Victorian, who was visiting the northern beaches and returned home and later tested positive, stopped at Gundagai on the way home.
Earlier, neither the Victorian health minister Martin Foley nor Covid response leader Jeroen Weimar could confirm whether the town was Gundagai or Gunnedah.
“The family stopped at Oliver’s Real Food Outlet at Gundagai, mid- to late afternoon on Wednesday 18 December,” Chant says.
“So advice will be going out to the community in Gundagai who may have also accessed that food outlet”.
Covid detected in sewage in Hornsby Heights
Chant is asking residents near Hornsby Heights to be vigilant for symptoms, after sewage testing showed there were traces of Covid-19 in the area.
“[We] detected traces of the virus at a treatment plant at Hornsby Heights on Saturday December 19. The sewerage system drains parts of Berowra, Cowan, Berowra Heights, Hornsby Heights, Mount Colah, Mount Ku-ring-gai, Asquith and a small part of Hornsby.
“New South Wales Health is aware of two positive Covid-19 cases in the area who are linked to the Avalon cluster ... It may be linked to cases in the area but regardless we urge people in those areas to be vigilant for symptoms and attend for testing.”
Updated
A staff member at the Paddington Alimentari Deli and Cafe has also tested positive.
Anyone who was seated there between December 17 to 19 are considered close contacts and should get tested for Covid and isolate for 14 days.
“Takeaway patrons should monitor for symptoms until January 2 and isolate and get tested immediately should any symptoms develop.”
Updated
Some more detail of the Rose of Australia pub in Erskinville, where there has been Covid transmission outside of the northern beaches.
Two people have so far tested positive who had been at the pub.
Chant says that both had dinner there.
“One patron dined there from 7pm to 9pm on 15 December whilst infectious and another diner has tested positive on Sunday and we believe there has been transmission from the first person on to the new case at the venue.
“The second case was part of a work dinner and all attendees at that dinner are being tested but we’re also investigating how the contact between the first and second person occurred.”
Updated
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant says that the case that is not linked to the northern beaches cluster is a healthcare worker from western Sydney.
The person was “involved in the transfer of patients from the international airport”.
A workplace contact of the person has also tested positive and will be included in the day’s tally tomorrow.
“This case has transported several patients but we have identified that they also have transferred positive Covid cases,” she said.
“We are obviously doing urgent genome sequencing to confirm that that is the source of their infection and those results will be available later today.
“A close workplace contact of this healthcare worker has come back positive since the 8pm figures and that will be included in the account for tomorrow.”
Updated
NSW records eight new Covid cases
NSW has recorded eight new cases today, down from 15 yesterday.
“Pleasingly we only had eight cases of community transmission,” says premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Seven of them are linked directly to the northern beaches cluster.
“The eighth one being it could actually be an overseas-acquired case. It was a transport nurse, someone who worked in transport in patients in quarantine, a nurse.”
That was from a record number of tests – 44,000. That is also up from yesterday’s previous record tests of 38,000.
Updated
Anthony Albanese's chief of staff were at exposure site, tested negative
The federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese has just revealed at a press conference that his chief of staff and a media advisor were at a Sydney CBD exposure site.
They have both tested negative.
The building at 1 Bligh Street is a large office building that holds multiple workplaces – including the Commonwealth Parliament Office.
Opposition Leader @AlboMP reveals his Chief of Staff and media advisor (present at this media conference) were at the Sydney CPO at the time a positive Covid case was identified in the building. He says: "They have been tested, they have been found to be negative" #7NEWS #auspol pic.twitter.com/LeWG2cg1nq
— Jennifer Bechwati (@jenbechwati) December 21, 2020
1 Bligh St in Syd CBD has a confirmed #COVID19 case. The building hosts the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, where federal politicians work when in Sydney #auspol #COVID19nsw https://t.co/HN0OcKBlXY
— Amanda Copp (@AmandaCoppNews) December 21, 2020
Weimar is asked “if there are single-digit cases in New South Wales today” is there “any prospect at all of a pre-Christmas border reopening?”
He says: “This is a matter for Brett [Sutton] as our chief health officer.”
But he adds “there is a long way to go” in the Sydney cluster.
“There will be some more cases, I’m sure that have come in overnight. We need to understand the progression of this virus. We know it doesn’t just get killed in one go.”
Updated
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce the state’s new numbers in 10 minutes, at 11am.
FYI here is the difference between Gundagai and Gunnedah relative to Melbourne pic.twitter.com/PlEdeMAa6B
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) December 21, 2020
Weimar says that some of the 17 in hotel quarantine are returning Victorians.
He says they also breached the NSW guidelines, because they left the northern beaches.
“New South Wales also said, ‘You cannot leave the Northern beaches hotspot. You have to stay isolated at home.’
“We clearly have a number of people who disregarded that advice, arrived at one of our airports, and were therefore taken into hotel quarantine.”
Updated
Deputy health secretary Jeroen Weimar also does not know whether it is Gundagai or Gunnedah.
He is asked “Is it Gundagai?”
“I will confirm that afterwards,” he said. “I don’t have that in front of me.”
A very good point here:
Probably Gundagai but pretty important to know in case there are other Victorians who stopped there and they need to be contact traced as well. I guess will have to wait NSW Health advice to know exactly when and where this person stopped. https://t.co/2wwmcxrenS
— Andrew Tillett (@andrewtillett) December 21, 2020
Victoria’s health department has still not issued the written release that clarifies the Gundagai / Gunnedah confusion.
Foley earlier said he did not know for sure but it would be clear in the release.
Gundagai is on the way from Sydney to Melbourne, Gunnedah is north of Sydney.
Foley is asked about former health minister Jenny Mikakos, his predecessor in the role, who yesterday said Daniel Andrews was a “master in political deflection” after the report into hotel quarantine was released.
Foley says he does not agree with Mikakos.
“The premier is leading a state that is going through a huge trauma of a global pandemic,” he says.
“And the premier is leading by example, a group of people, whether they be ministers, departments, frontline workers, 700 police, thousands of people who are going to learn these lessons of 2020 and build not just a high-performance and high-achieving health department – which is my focus – but a better Victoria that will come back from the bitter lessons of 2020.”
Updated
The person who tested positive is a 15 year old girl, who had family connections to the northern beaches, Foley says.
He says the girl’s mother, who travelled with her, has tested negative.
“[She visited] the Avalon RSL, the Avalon Bowling Club, the fish and chip shop that was listed,” he says. “Quite a range.”
“This young person has done the right thing,” he adds.
She arrived back home in Victoria late on the 17th, and was tested on the 20th.
Updated
Foley says that the 17 people who were placed in hotel quarantine did not enter with “the appropriate exemptions”.
“They entered Victoria from the hot zones when they shouldn’t have, without the appropriate exemptions or supports, and as a result, they have been compulsorily quarantined for 14 days in a hotel.”
Updated
Victorian health minister Martin Foley says that the person drove to Victoria and stopped in the NSW town of “Gunadai”.
A reporter asks him if he means “Gunnedah” or “Gundagai”.
Foley says he does not know. (There is no such place as “Gunadai”).
“All I know is that it is north of the border,” he says laughing. “It’s not in Victoria.”
4,000 Victorians have applied to return from 'red zones'
Victoria yesterday saw a “significant upswing” in testing, with 15,520 tests conducted.
The state has a traffic light system for entry from various parts of NSW. Sydney, and the central coast (including the northern beaches) are in the “red zone”, meaning their entry can be rejected and if they do enter they have to go into hotel quarantine.
Covid response chief Jeroen Weimar has announced that up until midday yesterday the state received 4,000 applications for people returning from the red zone.
20,000 people have applied for travel from the amber zone. People from that zone can enter the state but must isolate and get tested. 4,000 people have already tested negative from amber zones, Weimar says.
Updated
17 people, including a family of five, have been placed in hotel quarantine in Victoria after travelling in from NSW.
“That is 17 people who will be spending their Christmas and their New Year, not as they planned,” Foley says.
“My message to anyone trying to enter Victoria from New South Wales is: don’t. You won’t get in, and if you do, you’ll be spending your time at Christmas and New Year in hotel quarantine.”
Updated
Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, is speaking now.
He says Victoria still does not have community transmission in the state.
He is also providing more detail on the one new Covid-19 case, who is a person who returned from the northern beaches and is now in quarantine.
He says the close contacts of the person “are understood to be limited”.
The person is a “young person from the Moonee Valley local government area who visited several of the high-risk exposure sites in Sydney”.
The person came back to Victoria with their parent.
Foley says that because the person isolated at home on their return, there are “no exposure sites in Victoria”.
Updated
The Victorian health minister and chief health officer are about to speak at 10am.
This is an excellent end of year recap, if I do say so myself:
On Monday Scott Morrison said the government had “no plans” to change any of its economic supports in response to the Avalon cluster – but after border closures by Queensland and Victoria, the outgoing tourism minister, Simon Birmingham, has left the door slightly ajar.
Birmingham told ABC News Breakfast:
Look, as we have right throughout the pandemic, we will respond to the circumstances. And we’ve done that with some consistent principles with support to deal with the crisis has to be temporary.
These things can’t last forever. They need to be targeted to where there is real need and they need to be proportionate to the circumstances ... Around the rest of the world, we’re seeing around 600,000 new cases reported a day. In Australia, yesterday, we had 15 in relation to the Sydney cluster. So we’ve got to keep a sense of proportionality about this.
But if you’re a tourism business who has just seen huge cancellations come through for what you had hoped would be the real revival period of this summer break, then your concerns are real, they’re understandable and that’s why we’ll keep talking and working closely with the industry and respond to their needs ...
We hope, though, that we can see NSW get on top of this cluster quickly and that in doing so, other states and territories recognise that will again be a case of NSW succeeding to suppressing Covid, in crushing a cluster, and that, therefore, the state borders should come back up again so people can rebook and plan their arrangements as quickly as possible.
So it depends how well NSW goes suppressing the Avalon cluster, but the government sounds open to some form of support for tourism operators if borders stay closed.
Updated
Vapers in Australia will require a prescription for liquid nicotine but Greg Hunt has quietly abandoned a plan to ban the importation of vaping devices after a Coalition revolt.
Paul Karp has the story:
And on that news, the Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, and chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, will hold a press conference at 10am.
Updated
Victoria records one new Covid case from NSW
Victoria has today recorded a new Covid-19 case, acquired on the northern beaches of Sydney. The person is in quarantine.
“Victoria has recorded 0 cases in 53 days, however one positive case from a returned Victorian traveller was acquired within the northern beaches area of NSW,” the health department said.
“Close contacts are currently understood to be limited, with contact tracing underway and further investigations ongoing.”
Yesterday there were 0 new local cases and no lives lost. 1 new case was acquired interstate, 2 international - these cases are in quarantine. 15,521 test results were received. If you have symptoms, get tested and stay home. https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/m7VzFfS3BV
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 21, 2020
Updated
Queensland turns away 57 cars at the border
Queensland police have stopped 57 cars carrying 117 people from New South Wales at the state border.
A police spokesman told Nine News this morning they had intercepted a woman who “came directly from greater Sydney”, allegedly “lied to police” and tried to enter through two different checkpoints.
#BREAKING: Queensland police have turned away 57 cars, containing 115 people at the border so far, as the hard lockout to New South Wales returns. #9News pic.twitter.com/33CwcwDfgn
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) December 21, 2020
Updated
Some potentially worrying news from the northern beaches:
One of the new places listed by @NSWHealth is the Avalon Recreation Centre where hundreds queued all day Thursday for testing. Once the queue moved indoors, many people waited 2.5 hours surrounded by others.
— Juanita Phillips (@Juanita_Phillip) December 21, 2020
Queensland tourism minister tells Sydneysiders to cancel holidays
Queensland’s acting tourism minister, Scott Stewart, is asking Sydney residents to cancel their bookings as a result of the border closures, so other people can snap them up.
“We’re expecting strong interest from interstate and Queensland holidaymakers in snapping up cancelled bookings from greater Sydney,” he said, as reported by AAP.
“Swift cancellations ... will mean those who have missed out will be able to secure bookings and accommodation providers are less likely to be left out of pocket.”
Stewart said travellers from greater Sydney usually account for 10% of holiday bookings in the sunshine state during the summer.
Updated
Health minister 'fairly happy' with case numbers to be announced today
The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, was on the ABC’s Radio National this morning, where he gave a hint of the latest case numbers to come today.
Hazzard said he wouldn’t give out the numbers but said he is “fairly happy on that issue”.
The numbers will be announced at 11am.
Updated
The epidemiologist Prof Raina MacIntyre is on the ABC right now. She says it would be “simple” to mandate masks in Sydney:
Given the danger that these two events – Christmas and new year – pose to Sydney and to the rest of Australia, I think it would be a sort of simple intervention to mandate the masks. It’s not going to hurt the economy, which is clearly the concern with any other types of restrictions.
If you don’t have a mandate, probably about 30-40% of people will wear a mask. If you do have a mandate, it goes right up to close to 100%, which is what we saw in Melbourne. It went from 40% to 100% overnight.
MacIntyre adds that anyone who is infected on Christmas Eve will be “at the peak of their infectiousness on New Year’s Eve”:
That’s the danger. If we’ve got numbers down to low single digits or zero by Christmas Day, that will put us in a better position. But I think the time to make that decision is now gone, because there’s only two days left. And we need to watch that period between Christmas and new year very closely as well.
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NSW Minister @BradHazzard confirms that the Illawarra is not considered wider Sydney when it comes to COVID restrictions. Restrictions end at Wollongong @RNBreakfast
— Emma Alberici (@albericie) December 21, 2020
In South Australia, efforts are continuing to contact – and release – more than 500 people who travelled from NSW and were wrongly told to quarantine for 14 days.
Yesterday the police commissioner, Grant Stevens, apologised for the error, which was caused by a miscommunication of the state’s rules. People who arrived before midnight on Sunday were not required to quarantine, and 100 people were turned away at the border. A further 550 were allowed in but told to quarantine.
AAP reports this morning that about 180 have since been contacted and 160 of those have been released.
Updated
New Sydney exposure sites in CBD
Late last night NSW Health released a list of new venues visited by people while they were infectious.
The new venues outside the northern beaches are below. The full list is here.
Anyone who attended any of the following venues at the times specified is considered a
close contact and must get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the
result:
- Alexandria Cortex Gym – strength and conditioning class, 1 Bowden Street, Alexandria, on Tuesday 15 December
- Blacktown BodyFit Gym, 27 Sackville Street, Blacktown on Wednesday 16 December, 7am-8am; Thursday 17 December, 7am-8am; Friday 18 December, 7am-8am
- Paddington London Hotel, 85 Underwood Street, Paddington on Thursday 17 December, 8.15pm-9.30pm
- Sydney Paragon Hotel sports bar, 1 Loftus Street, Sydney on Wednesday 16 December, 12.45pm-3.30pm. (Anyone who attended the sports bar during this time for more than one hour is considered a close contact and should get tested and isolate for 14 days even if they receive a negative result. Anyone who attended the sports bar during this time for less than one hour get should tested immediately and isolate pending a negative result.)
Anyone who visited one of the following venues at the times specified is asked to
immediately get tested and isolate until NSW Health provides further information:
- USA Nails, 788A Pacific Highway, Gordon on Thursday 17 December, 12.30pm-1.30pm
- Macquarie Park Premier Academy League under-eights, Macquarie University soccer fields, Macquarie Park on Sunday 13 December, 9am-11am
- Paddington Alimentari, 2 Hopetoun Street, Paddington on Thursday 17 December, 5.30am-6pm; Friday 18 December, 5.30am-6pm; Saturday 19 December, 5.30am-6pm
- Sydney Arthouse Hotel, 275 Pitt Street, Sydney on Thursday 17 December, 11.15am-12.15pm
- Sydney 1 Bligh St, Sydney on Thursday 17 December, 10.30am-10.50am
- Macquarie Shopping Centre, corner of Herring and Waterloo roads, Macquarie Park on Monday 13 December, 11am-1pm. (Please note change of advice from test immediately and isolate to casual contact – monitor for symptoms and test if they appear.)
You can read the full list here:
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus today. It’s Naaman Zhou here with you.
Sydney residents will find out tomorrow morning whether current restrictions will be lifted in time for Christmas or extended. A lot of that will depend on today’s case numbers, to be released at 11am.
Yesterday NSW recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19 – half the previous day’s rise, and all still linked to the northern beaches outbreak. It also came after a record day of testing, with 38,000 swabs taken.
But there are still fears of greater spread, with evidence of infection at venues outside the northern beaches, and new potential exposure sites released late last night by NSW Health, including some in the Sydney CBD.
Stay with us for all the latest.
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